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My Neighbor Totoro poster

Movies that feel likeMy Neighbor Totoro (1988)

Two sisters move to the country with their father in order to be closer to their hospitalized mother, and discover the surrounding trees are inhabited by Totoros, magical spirits of the forest. When the youngest runs away from home, the older sister seeks help from the spirits to find her.

If you loved My Neighbor Totoro, the closest films we have are Ponyo (2008), Spirited Away (2001) and Kiki's Delivery Service (1989). All three share My Neighbor Totoro's dreamlike and whimsical feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is The Secret of Kells (2009).

🍅 94% Rotten Tomatoes★ 8.1 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Hayao Miyazakidreamlikewhimsicalwarmcozy
10 of 12 streaming nowHBO Max · Amazon Prime Video · Disney Plus

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If My Neighbor Totoro hit the spot, these will too

Ponyo poster
Ponyo
2008 · dir. Hayao Miyazaki
🍅 91%★ 7.6animation · fantasy · familyMax

Miyazaki's childlike wonder, this time spilling out of the sea

The difference: Busier and stranger — calm gives way to flood-tide chaos

When Sosuke, a young boy who lives on a clifftop overlooking the sea, rescues a stranded goldfish named Ponyo, he discovers more than he bargained for. Ponyo is a curious, energetic young creature who yearns to be human, but even as she causes chaos around the house, her father, a powerful sorcerer, schemes to return Ponyo to the sea.

Spirited Away poster
Spirited Away
2001 · dir. Hayao Miyazaki
🍅 96%★ 8.6animation · family · fantasyMax

A child crossing into a spirit world that plays by its own rules

The difference: Genuinely frightening stretches — wonder with teeth

A young girl, Chihiro, becomes trapped in a strange new world of spirits. When her parents undergo a mysterious transformation, she must call upon the courage she never knew she had to free her family.

Kiki's Delivery Service poster
Kiki's Delivery Service
1989 · dir. Hayao Miyazaki
★ 7.8animation · family · fantasyMax

Gentle magic woven into the rhythms of everyday life

The difference: A working girl's story — small setbacks, no forest mystery

A young witch, on her mandatory year of independent life, finds fitting into a new community difficult while she supports herself by running an air courier service.

Princess Mononoke poster
Princess Mononoke
1997 · dir. Hayao Miyazaki
🍅 93%★ 8.3adventure · fantasy · animationMax

Forest spirits and humans negotiating the same sacred woods

The difference: Violent and epic — this forest bites back

Ashitaka, a prince of the disappearing Emishi people, is cursed by a demonized boar god and must journey to the west to find a cure. Along the way, he encounters San, a young human woman fighting to protect the forest, and Lady Eboshi, who is trying to destroy it. Ashitaka must find a way to bring balance to this conflict.

The Nightmare Before Christmas poster
The Nightmare Before Christmas
1993 · dir. Henry Selick
🍅 95%★ 7.9fantasy · animation · familyDisney+

A handcrafted world where the eerie turns out to be endearing

The difference: Gothic song-and-skeleton showmanship — spooky, not serene

Tired of scaring humans every October 31 with the same old bag of tricks, Jack Skellington, the spindly king of Halloween Town, kidnaps Santa Claus and plans to deliver shrunken heads and other ghoulish gifts to children on Christmas morning. But as Christmas approaches, Jack's rag-doll girlfriend, Sally, tries to foil his misguided plans.

Howl's Moving Castle poster
Howl's Moving Castle
2004 · dir. Hayao Miyazaki
🍅 88%★ 8.2fantasy · animation · adventureMax

A strange magical household that becomes a refuge

The difference: War looms at the edges — busier plot, older heroine

Sophie, a young milliner, is turned into an elderly woman by a witch who enters her shop and curses her. She encounters a wizard named Howl and gets caught up in his resistance to fighting for the king.

The Secret of Kells poster
The Secret of Kells
2009 · dir. Tomm Moore
🍅 90%★ 7.5animation · family · fantasy

Illuminated folklore where the forest holds old magic

The difference: Ornate storybook flatness — peril presses in harder

Adventure awaits 12 year old Brendan who must fight Vikings and a serpent god to find a crystal and complete the legendary Book of Kells. In order to finish Brother Aiden's book, Brendan must overcome his deepest fears on a secret quest that will take him beyond the abbey walls and into the enchanted forest where dangerous mythical creatures hide. Will Brendan succeed in his quest?

Song of the Sea poster
Song of the Sea
2014 · dir. Tomm Moore
🍅 99%★ 8family · animation · fantasy

Siblings, a distant parent and folklore that heals

The difference: Grief sits closer to the surface — a sadder lullaby

The story of the last Seal Child’s journey home. After their mother’s disappearance, Ben and Saoirse are sent to live with Granny in the city. When they resolve to return to their home by the sea, their journey becomes a race against time as they are drawn into a world Ben knows only from his mother’s folktales. But this is no bedtime story; these fairy folk have been in our world far too long. It soon becomes clear to Ben that Saoirse is the key to their survival.

Porco Rosso poster
Porco Rosso
1992 · dir. Hayao Miyazaki
🍅 96%★ 7.7animation · adventure · fantasyMax

Ghibli whimsy with a melancholy grown-up undertow

The difference: A world-weary pilot's tale — kids aren't the audience

In Italy in the 1930s, sky pirates in biplanes terrorize wealthy cruise ships as they sail the Adriatic Sea. The only pilot brave enough to stop the scourge is the mysterious Porco Rosso, a former World War I flying ace who was somehow turned into a pig during the war. As he prepares to battle the pirate crew's American ace, Porco Rosso enlists the help of spunky girl mechanic Fio Piccolo and his longtime friend Madame Gina.

The Sword in the Stone poster
The Sword in the Stone
1963 · dir. Wolfgang Reitherman
🍅 65%★ 7.1animation · family · fantasyDisney+

Dreamlike where it counts, whimsical underneath

The difference: The scrappier of the two with critics

Wart is a young boy who aspires to be a knight's squire. On a hunting trip he falls in on Merlin, a powerful but amnesiac wizard who has plans for him beyond mere squiredom. He starts by trying to give him an education, believing that once one has an education, one can go anywhere. Needless to say, it doesn't quite work out that way.

Kirikou and the Sorceress poster
Kirikou and the Sorceress
1998 · dir. Michel Ocelot
🍅 96%★ 7.5fantasy · adventure · animationPrime Video

The same mix in both: warmth, then comfort

The difference: Leans harder into adventure than My Neighbor Totoro does

Drawn from elements of West African folk tales, it depicts how a newborn boy, Kirikou, saves his village from the evil witch Karaba.

Anastasia poster
Anastasia
1997 · dir. Gary Goldman
🍅 83%★ 7.2animation · family · fantasyDisney+

Fantasy with a pulse of dream logic, in both cases

Ten years after she was separated from her family, an eighteen-year-old orphan with vague memories of the past sets out to Paris in hopes of reuniting with her grandmother. She is accompanied by two con men, who intend to pass her off as the Grand Duchess Anastasia to the Dowager Empress for a reward.

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The best-reviewed films that share My Neighbor Totoro’s defining feeling.